Six Wii Launch Titles Confirmed
The latest Nintendo Power reveals part of the launch lineup.
by Daemon Hatfield

June 22, 2006 - According to the latest issue of Nintendo Power, the following titles will be available alongside the Wii's launch later this year: The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, Dragon Quest Swords: The Masked Queen and the Tower of Mirrors, Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz, Red Steel, and Rayman Raving Rabbits.

Notably missing from this list is Super Mario Galaxy, although few were expecting to see the game right at launch. Several other titles expected to be available on day one are missing here, but as IGN reported in May, more games will no doubt be added to the lineup as the launch draws closer.

A new Government rule may destroy the availability of WiiConnect 24, one of the Nintendo Wii's most touted new features, in the UK.

The British Government is enforcing a new law which requires standby features of appliances to be slashed from product designs. Some mentioned products by the Government include set-top boxes, chargers, televisions, lighting, freezers, fridges, washing machines, and computers. These must be created in a more energy-efficent manner, and standby features will no longer be tolerated.

According to the Government, standby features consume at least 8% of the UK's energy each year.

WiiConnect 24 takes advantage of a standby feature to allow the Wii system to be 'always-on'. Whilst it remains on, Nintendo and your friends may be able to send messages or 'phone' your system, visit and interact with your town in Animal Crossing, and send downloads to your system, amongst other features.

The new law means that Nintendo may have to rule out this feature for the UK, which may also mean that the UK becomes treated as it's own entity, rather than part of the European region.

We'll keep you posted on the matter!

EXCLUSIVE: Wii Know A lot You Don’t- Nintendo Wii Specs Fully Uncovered!!! *Updated*

So far Nintendo have done a very credible job in keeping information regarding the Wii to a minimum. Well all that has just changed! An anonymous Wii developer has sent to us slurry of information regarding Nintendo’s next-gen console, all that’s left now is a confirmed release date and price to complete the puzzle. Believe us when we say, this article is a MUST READ, you won’t be disappointed. Prepare to get educated… *Update* - The dev mailed us and said he was shocked to see all these cries of 'fake', so he provided some more info to show he's not bluffing...



Wii Know A Lot You Don’t... but will – Enjoy!

Anyway, we've done enough talking thus far, prepare your eyes for a textual feast on the joys to behold with the Wii.

The Wii Hardware

- Nintendo Wii’s ‘Broadway’ CPU operates at 729MHZ with a maximum bandwith of 1.9gbyte/sec.
- Nintendo Wii’s ‘HollyWood’ GPU is clocked at 243MHZ, the internal memory of it includes 3mb of embedded graphics memory and 24megabytes of high speed main memory.
- 64megabytes of GDDR3 (MEM2) as the external main memory. Just like the internal memory, it can be accessed from the CPU and GPU with a maximum bandwidth of 4gbytes/sec and can also store programs in the MEM2.
- The GPU of the Wii is identical to the GC’s but it is on average 1.5X faster.

Wii's Optical Disc Drive

- Opitcal Disc Drive (ODD) supports single and dual layer Wii disks, discs eject with software or button and the maximum read speed is the equivalent of DVDx6.
- Two main disc types supported the single sided 12cm single sided 4.7gb and the double sided 8.51 GB. Nintendo GC discs also supported. Some of the capacity of the discs are used by the system and games can not use full disc space.
- Inserting a disc will start the Wii console, even if it was already in an off state. Pressing the eject button will change the console to an on state to take out the disc also.

General Overview

- An optional wired LAN adapter that connects to a USB port is in the pipeline for users who do not possess a wireless LAN set-up currently.
- Internal non-removable 512MB flash memory used to storage game save data and downloadable content thus eliminating the need for a memory card.
- Both Wii discs and Gamecube discs can be played via an intelligent mode swap. When running in GC mode, the Wii’s CPU and GPU will lower to the respective speeds of the GC and some of the MEM2 functions as ARAM.
- Software development environment is an upgrade to the ‘Dolphin SDK’ used with the GC; the same libraries are used so developers can get up to scratch easily as well as the possibility of ports being easier.
- The following interfaces are included with the Wii; SD card slot, Wireless controller, two USB 2.0 ports, wireless LAN, 4x GC controller ports, 2x GC memory card slots and an AV multi output jack (only an analog jack).
- Supports Wii disks (one sided 12cm) and GC discs (one sided 8cm) and console auto switches depends on what disk is inserted
- More than just the Nunchaku is planned as an extension. GC peripherals such as DK bongos can be used in both Wii and GC modes.
- Three power status, on, off and unplugged. To prevent mistaken turn offs, the power button must be held for about a second.

The Wii Control System

- The Wii controller features; Direct Pointing Device, Three axis accelerometer, Wii power button (remotely turn console on/off), buttons, wireless connectivity, indicator LED’s, rumble, battery powered (two AA alkaline batteries) and ability to connect extension unit.
- The Wii controller supports three types of operations; by itself, with a nunchuk extension or with a classic controller. Classic controllers will ship to developers during August 2006.
- The SYNCHRO button on the Wii controller exchanges wireless ID numbers when pressed at the same time as SYNCRHO on the Wii console. Wireless communications are only possible with consoles which have been authenticated.
- The rumble motor can be turned on and off and the intensity can be changed.
- The Wii remote has a pointer for fine movements as well as a motion Sensor +/- 3.4G suitable for larger body movements, the nunchuk attachment has a Sensor of +/- 2G
- The sensor bar must be placed above or below a TV set, the pointer measures coordinates between the ends of the bar which are about 20cm apart.
- The Wii remote has four status, disconnected, communicating, establishing connection and pairing wait status.
- The pointer can measure co-ordinates within bounds of rectangle centered upon the sensor bar, thus it can also measure points beyond the screen. It also responds to strong light sources, windows, fluorescent lamps, fireplaces, mirrors etc.
- Due to players hands shaking while holding the controller, a ring buffer allows a precise direction to be created to hold and average accelerator samples.

Thanks 'TheGuy' for the info!

Big shoutout must go out to the 'TheGuy' for this info!

*UPDATE* The dev mailed us and said he was shocked to see all these cries of 'fake', so he provided some more info to show he's not bluffing...

Broadway CPU

Broadway is Wii's CPU. Broadway functionality and specifications are as follows.

• Operating speed: 729 MHz
• Bus to main memory: 243 MHz, 64 bits (maximum bandwidth: 1.9 gigabytes/sec)
• 32-kilobyte 8-way set-associative L1 instruction cache
• 32-kilobyte 8-way set-associative L1 data cache (can set up 16-kilobyte data scratch pad)
• Superscalar microprocessor with six execution units (floating-point unit, branching unit, system regis
ter unit, load/store unit, two integer units)
• DMA unit (15-entry DMA request queue) used by 16-kilobyte data scratch pad
• Write-gather buffer for writing graphics command lists to the graphics chip
• Onboard 256-kilobyte 2-way set-associative L2 integrated cache
• Two, 32-bit integer units (IU)
• One floating point unit (FPU) (supports single precision (32-bit) and double precision (64-bit))
• The FPU supports paired single floating point (FP/PS)
• The FPU supports paired single multiply add (ps_madd). Most FP/PS instructions can be issued in
each cycle and completed in three cycles.
• Fixed-point to floating-point conversion can be performed at the same time as FPU register load and
store, with no loss in performance.
• The branch unit supports static branch prediction and dynamic branch prediction.
• When an instruction is stalled on data, the next instruction can be issued and executed. All instructions
maintain program logic and will complete in the correct program order.
• Supports three L2 cache fetch modes: 32-Byte, 64-Byte, and 128-Byte.
• Supports these bus pipeline depth levels: level 2, level 3, and level 4.
Reference Information: Broadway is upward compatible with Nintendo GameCube’s CPU (Gekko).

Hollywood GPU

Hollywood is a system LSI composed of a GPU and internal main memory (MEM1). Hollywood is clocked at 243 MHz. Its internal memory consists of 3 megabytes of embedded graphics memory and 24 megabytes of high speed main memory.

Hollywood includes the following.
• Graphics processing unit (with 3 megabytes of eDRAM)
• Audio DSP
• I/O Bridge
• 24 megabytes of internal main memory
• Internal main memory operates at 486 MHz.
Maximum bandwidth between Hollywood and internal main memory: 3.9 gigabytes per second
• Possible to locate a program here
Reference Information: Hollywood is similar to Nintendo GameCube’s Flipper and Splash components.

External Main Memory (MEM2)

Wii uses 64 megabytes of GDDR3 (MEM2) as external main memory. Like internal main memory, MEM2 can be accessed directly from Broadway and the GPU at high speed and has a peak bandwidth of 4 gigabytes/sec. Programs can also be placed in MEM2.

Reference Information: Nintendo GameCube ARAM is used as auxiliary memory for the DSP. The CPU and GPU did not have direct access to it.

The Wii console from Japanese gaming giant Nintendo will cost under 250 euros (£170) in Europe, according to a senior executive at the company.

The figure is the first time the games giant has given a European price.

Bernd Fakesch, head of German operations at the company, mentioned the figure in an interview at the Leipzig Game Convention in Germany.

In May, the company said the console would cost 25,000 yen or lower in Japan and $250 (£133) or less in the US.

When it is released later this year, the Wii console will compete with Sony's PlayStation 3 (PS3) and Microsoft's Xbox 360. No exact date for the Wii's launch has been given.

Long wait

The Wii console, formerly known as the Revolution, was unveiled at this year's E3 games expo in Los Angeles.

The console features a controller that looks like a TV remote control and uses motion sensors to allow gamers to use it as a tennis racket, sword or conductors baton, for example.


The price has not been decided yet, but I expect it to be ... less than 250 euros
Bernd Fakesch, Nintendo

Wii controller tested

At its launch no price or release date was set.

In May this year, the company released its financial results and confirmed the American and Japanese prices. It omitted a European price.

On Wednesday, Nintendo held a press conference at the Leipzig Games Convention titled "Wii prove our promise". Many industry observers expected Nintendo to confirm a European price and launch date at the event. It did not.

However, speaking to Reuters at the event Mr Fakesch said: "The price has not been decided yet, but I expect it to be ... less than 250 euros."

The price is considerably less than the cost of Sony's PlayStation 3, which will hit European shelves on 17 November this year.

A basic version of Sony's console with a 20GB hard drive will cost $499 (£266), while a premium model boasting 60GB of storage will sell for $599 (£320).

The exact price in Britain has not been announced but the head of Sony Computer Entertainment in the UK has suggested it could be around £425.

Pre orders of the next generation consoles are on offer for £550 ($1,020) at online shop, play.com.

Prices for Microsoft's Xbox 360, which went on sale last November, start at $299 in the US and £209 in the UK.

Both offerings from Microsoft and Sony boast more gaming power than the Wii.

But Nintendo says it aims to win over gamers with an affordable price and innovative titles.

The Japanese company hopes to sell 4 million consoles by the end of 2006.

Though Nintendo has yet to announce final pricing or release timing for its Wii console, the company has at least committed to an upper limit: Nintendo has said its new system will cost less than $250 in North America and no more than 25,000 yen ($215) in Japan.

Peter Molyneux, the legendary game designer responsible for games like Populous, Theme Park and The Movies, has issued a warning to future games designers regarding the new motion sensing control pads - that gamers may be too lazy to use them!

In a speech made at this week's big gaming event in Leipzig, the creator of Black & White warned developers that the new technology needs to be used in an innovative way. That the laziness inherent in games would need to be preserved to keep gaming popular:

"I've realised I'm an incredibly lazy person when I play games, and actually slouching back on the sofa, playing on my beer belly, is my most comfortable position. When I have to get up, it's painful. I make noises and start grunting."

Molyneux expanded on the point by stating that although the idea behind playing a sword game with a Wii controller sounds cool - you actually look rather stupid doing it. What's more Molyneux found things get tiring really quick when swinging your arm round imitating Zelda.

Molyneux told a story of how they had played with a glove peripheral as an add on for Black & White, but said that the amount of extra energy required to use it had left the tester "grey", claiming it was the equivalent of some kind of Japanese torture device.

Molyneux hasn't totally abandoned the idea of motion sensing controllers, he claims the innovative way the DS Lite utilises interactivity provides a beacon for the future:

"How we are going to change games - it's not the obvious solution, it's clearly more subtle. I think the DS proves that. What I've found really fascinating is not using [the DS stylus] to scribble with, but using it in a very clever, innovational way."

We're inclined to disagree with Molyneux on this one, perhaps with the introduction of physically strenuous games; gamers will become fitter and more healthy. Of course we always encourage innovation amongst games developers and with the new Wii controller we are sure to see some startling things in the coming months.

Nintendo has been critisized for a long time for not "getting" online. It seems they are always a step behind the other guys. They barely included online capabilities in the GameCube. The DS now has a popular Wi-Fi service, but it was months before we saw it used and then by not many games. The assumption with the Wii is that it would have online games from the start. And it will...but not from third party developers.

When interviewing Activision about Tony Hawk Downhill Jam, IGN learned a disappointing tidbit about its multiplayer--it won't be online. Activision wouldn't say why, but IGN says it has heard from multiple sources that Nintendo will not release the Wii Wi-Fi Connection libraries to third parties until early 2007.

That means no third party launch titles will have an online mode. Further, it means no launch window titles will either and "early 2007" is vague enough that we may not see third party online Wii games until as late as Summer 2007.

Nintendo's success with the Wii is dependent on convincing publishers that having Nintendo first party games as their biggest competitor is not bad enough to keep them from putting their games on the console. That makes this decision, if IGN's reporting is correct, a major step in the wrong direction.

On Nintendo’s Wii side, there are many rumours recently that said Wii may launch earlier than expected in late Oct, in order to suppress PS3 that launches in mid-Nov, but in fact Nintendo may not have a confirmed official launch day, due to all sorts of problems related to the controller that prevented mass production.

The factory has received Wii controller’s purchasing order and its sample, but is still stucked in testing phrase. From feedbacks of testers, currently the Wiimote and nunchuck still have a lot of small issues, such as buttons aren’t sensitive, hard to press 2 buttons together, and even no response occasionally, and the current sample is easy to get damaged, using the controller in normal situation will produce some noise, etc. Entering Sept, if the above hardware problems cannot be fixed, it will directly affect Wii’s selling strategy.

Also, the factory has not received the Wii console from Nintendo yet, currently they are testing samples using a dedicated machine only for testing, which means after an up-to-standard sample is produced, it still needs to be sented back to Japan to be tested by Nintendo for the 2nd time. Wii controller uses bluetooth technology for real-time data transfer, and infrared for “space location”(space as in that Eistein(?)) guy Time-Space thingy), and the 2nd phrase of testing procedures maybe even tougher!

Nintendo fans finally have a price and release date for the company's new generation console, Wii. The Big N is set to officially announce that the system will hit retail in North and South America for $250 on November 19. The New York Times published with the story and seems, in fact, to have beaten Nintendo Co. Ltd with the news.

Nintendo's Wii console will come packaged with one Wii remote, one nunchuck attachment, an AC adapter, an audio/video cable, a sensor bar, sensor bard stand, a Wii console stand and two batteries. The US package will also come bundled with a copy of Wii Sports, a compilation sports game that best shows off the mechanics of the system's unique controller. Wii Sports features tennis, baseball, golf and previously unannounced bowling and boxing games.

Nintendo said it would provide Wii owners with more than 25 unique games this year.

Wii's much talked-about Virtual Console download service, which enables gamers to purchase classic games, will offer a library of some 30 titles when the system launches. Titles will include entries from the Mario, Zelda and Donkey Kong franchises, Nintendo said. Virtual Console games will cost between $5 and $10 each. Specifically, Nintendo Co. Ltd. announced that Virtual Console games would cost 500 yen ($5), 800 yen ($8) or 1,000 yen ($10); we're presuming these prices are for NES, SNES and N64 games respectively.

The Big N confirmed that it would charge $50 for its new Wii games, which is $10 cheaper than the cost of typical Xbox 360 titles. (Please note that this is First-Party games, prices have not been announced for Third-Part Wii games -- publishers are free to set their own prices on Wii titles.)

Nintendo Co. Ltd. revealed that Wii's various controllers would be available to buy separately at launch. The Wii remote will cost 3800 yen or about $40; the nunchuck 1800 yen or about $20 and the classic controller 1800 yen or about $20.

In a surprise announcement, Nintendo said that it wanted to make Wii a living room centerpiece by shipping the system with features outside of the videogame realm. Wii will include a photo channel, enabling users to display their digital photos through the console. It will also boast regularly updated news and weather channels. In addition, the system will ship with the Opera Web browser, enabling users to connect online.

One of the channels available on Wii is called the "Mii Channel." Here, players can customize avatars by selecting from a variety of face shapes, hair styles, color schemes, and so on. The hook is that these avatars can not only be stored on the console itself, they can also be transfered to the Wii remote itself -- presumably so players can easily access their personalized characters and take them with them when playing against friends.

Sony recently announced that it would ready 400,000 PS3s in North America and another 100,000 in Japan for the system's launch. Nintendo said it plans to ship 4 million Wii units worldwide by the end of the year.

Nintendo will launch Wii in Japan on December 2 of this year for 25,000 yen, it revealed. North America will get the system first.

Nintendo of Japan has added an amazing breakdown of the Wii's various interfaces to its overseas website. Everything is in Japanese, but the videos speak for themselves. Readers can click right here for a 14-page walkthrough of the system's ambitious features. Included in the list of options are demonstrations of the forecast, Mii, and photo channels. The forecast launches a virtual globe that can be spun in any direction. In the photo channel, users can load hundreds of their favorite photos and edit them in real-time. It's possible to message friends with Mii character profiles and to send pictures in messages. And the videos demonstrate surfing the Web with Wii's Opera browser. These are absolute must-see videos.

The Nintendo Wii will launch in the US November 19th, priced just under US$ 250 (197 euros / GBP 133) and will come bundled with a copy of the game Wii Sports.
Japanese consumers will have to wait an extra two weeks for the launch on December 2nd, but the console will retail slightly cheaper, at 25,000 Yen (167 euros / GBP 113), without a copy of Wii Sports.

Japan will see 16 titles at launch and will range in price from 4800 Yen (32 euro / GBP 22) to 6800 Yen (46 euro / GBP 31). 25 titles are purported to be available at launch in the US, priced around US$ 50 (39 euro / GBP 27)

At a press event, Nintendo of Japan president Satoru Iwata also revealed the pricing structure for downloadable games via the WiiConnect24 service.
NES games will sell for 500 Yen (3 euro / GBP 2), SNES titles will cost 800 Yen (5 euro / GBP 4) and N64 games will retail for 1000 Yen (7 euro / GBP 5).

Nintendo is due to host a press event tomorrow in the UK, releasing full details of the Wii launch, including games available from day one and new titles for the European region.

£170??!! No Wii for me at launch then

"We will make a profit on the entire Wii proposition out of the box--hardware and software," Fils-Aime told Reuters. "That really is a very different philosophy versus our competitors. We are a company that competes only in the interactive entertainment space, so we have to make a profit on everything we do."

Nintendo's Wii console will cost £180 and will launch in the UK on 8 December, Nintendo has finally confirmed at today's European Wii event in London.

Coming a week after the Japanese launch and three weeks after the console is released in the US, for your £180 the Wii pack will include one Wii-mote control, one Nunchuck attachment and a copy of Wii Sports.

Wii's other features include interactive news and weather channels - updated constantly through the WiiConnect24 online service - the Virtual Console and a Mii channel, which enables you to create your own avatar for use in games. These features will be accessible through the console's Wii Channel Menu, Nintendo's point-and-click answer to Xbox 360's Dashboard console interface.

The Wii Points system will be used to purchase downloadable content, including new Virtual Console games. Like Microsoft's MS Points on Xbox Live, the system will mean credit cards aren't needed for regular, impulse buys.

With US gamers getting theirs for $250, which works out at under £150, it seems that us UK dwellers have been stiffed by yet another videogame console launch. £180 slightly undermines Nintendo's drive for accessible, reasonably priced hardware, and certainly isn't quite the cheap-and-cheerful price tag we were all hoping for. Especially as for a mere £20 more you could bag yourself an Xbox 360 Core pack.

Nintendo is releasing new info at this very second, so we'll be updating you with news on Wii's UK launch line-up of games as well as any other developments, like Virtual Console pricing, and so on. Keep your eyes on GamesRadar for the latest.

Nintendo UK has admitted that the Wii console is region-locked after all, despite comments from Nintendo of America to the contrary.

Speaking to GamesIndustry.biz in London this afternoon, a spokesperson admitted, "We are region-locked," and said the US arm of the company had made a mistake in saying otherwise.

Earlier we reported on a piece by Wired News, which spoke to Nintendo vice president of marketing Perrin Kaplan during yesterday's showcase event in New York, during which they were told that Nintendo would not impose regional restrictions on game software.

That situation would have been comparable to that of Xbox 360, where some games are region-free but others are not, and gamers are generally left to find out for themselves whether an import is viable.

Nintendo also admitted yesterday that it had ruled out the idea of including DVD playback functionality, contradicting earlier announcements.

"Because the price of DVD players has dropped so much and they have become so commonplace, Nintendo saw no need to create extra hardware options that would drive up the cost for consumers," a representative for the company told GameSpot.

Previously Nintendo had said it would release an attachment for the Wii console that enabled DVD playback.

Games on the system will be sold on single- or double-layered 12-centimetre optical discs, while it will also be compatible with 8-centimetre GameCube discs.